Thinking of starting an export business and not sure where to start?
There are lots of import-export business ideas but if you are considering going into the textile export business, then you are in the right place.
In this guide, we will look at what is a textile export business and most especially how to start one.
Ready to dive in?
Let’s begin!
What is textile export?
Textile export business is the transportation or transfer of fabrics of raw material for making fabric manufactured in one’s home country to sell in another country’s market.
A lot of people might wonder why people in a foreign country would bother about buying fabric made in their home country considering culture differs and many would most likely want to stick to what they know.
What should be considered here is that the fact that culture differs is what makes selling to foreign countries lucrative and not to mention globalization has made it easier for cultures to overlap.
Many people like trying new things and people like varieties. Monopoly, they say brings boredom. So it is for people, especially fashion enthusiast to wear what belongs to them all the time. The need to try new things makes textile export a viable business to venture into.
Plus, as a matter of fact, textile export is one of the major sources of foreign exchange earnings for many countries. So apart from it being lucrative, you would be helping your country’s economy by venturing into textile export.
How to start a Textile Export Business?
If you have decided you want to go into textile export business and have no idea how to start, then you do not have to worry so much.
Here are tips that could help you start. The tips are even more necessary because although it is true how lucrative the business is, it is also important to note that many people have discovered this and so it is very competitive. So you have to work extra harder and smarter if you want to succeed at it.
- Be ready: Considering the last statement above, you have to understand the commitment, hard work, determination, resilience, smartness that you would have to put into it. Any business needs all these qualities but textile and other quite competitive businesses need it at a higher dose. Before you go into it, is important to be psychologically prepared for all the challenges and obstacles that might come with it and it is even wise to prepare in advance what how you would handle potential hurdles. It goes a long way to help you succeed.
- Get Connection and networking: No man can be an island or survive as one. It is important to get connected to those who are in the business, not simply to get information from them in order to plan your business but you need to keep the relationship for future purposes. Ask any successful business person if they did it without surrounding themselves with the right people and those who operate in similar businesses. This cannot be overemphasized, make it a point of duty to find the right people and keep in contact with them, your turning point in the business could come from one of them.
- Plan: No venture can succeed without a plan, no matter how small the venture is. So the place of planning cannot be overemphasized. After you have prepared your mind and determined to be committed, then you need to sit down and count your cost. And you can only count your costs by investing in getting knowledge. No knowledge is wasted and you cannot know too much. So read, watch documentaries and if you can find the time (which you should), get direct first-hand information from those who have gone ahead of you in the business. There is a lot you would learn from people first-hand that they might not divulge on the internet. Then having gathered sufficient information, use it to plan your business. Some of the things you might need to plan before starting include the general business description, who your manufacturers and target customers would be, form of advertisement, and budget and source of capital, the kind of fabric you would dealing in, and the country or countries you would be exporting to and many more questions you would get from gathering knowledge.
- Get Capital: It is a clear knowledge that no business can strive without capital. You would need capital to move and drive the business forward. There are many people who have business ideas but not able to bring it to realisation because of lack of capital. You have to figure out how you are going to get financing for the business. Some people save towards starting their own business as a long term goal, some get loans, some source for investors. If you are going to be seeking for funds from others – either through loan or grant, you would need to have a business plan. People would not give their money when they do not think you have a plan, so you have to let them know why giving to you will be worth it.
- Organize the business: The mistake many people make is that they do not understand that the business should be treated as an entity of its own and should be separated from the owner. That is why business experts always tell business owners to pay themselves salary as well as their staff. In essence, the business should be organized as an entity. The main aspect is to legalise the business using a lawyer so it can exist as a business on its own.
- Build Manufacturer Relationship: In the above tip on planning, it was stated that you know the kind of fabric(s) you want to deal with. You have to create reliable supply chains. If you don’t have supply chains, you basically do not have a business. So you would need to go scouting reliable manufacturers that deal in standard products (this is because if you want your business to be long-lasting and not something you want to do for a while, you will need to deal on standard products. For a while sub-standard products might see you through but it would destroy your business in the long run. So you want to protect your reputation by seeking for manufacturers of standard products).
- Scout for Customers: If there is no demand, there cannot be supply. You would most likely need to apply for visa to travel to your target country to scout for customers who would be ready to trust you enough to do business with you. It is important to understand at this point that you might need to start small, so be ready to build your customer base steadily. If you take not to provide them with standard products, they will reference you to others.
- Rent a Space: Even though you deal with markets outside the shores of your country, you would still need space for storing products, especially bulk products. This is important so as not to run at so much loss if you have nowhere safe and conducive to keep your bulk products
- Market Your Business: You have to also advertise and not necessarily settle for referencing. The best form of advertising these days is taking advantage of the internet. Have an online presence in order to market your business so as not to miss out on a lot of potential customers who spend hours on social media these days.
- Do Proper Analysis: As you move ahead in your business, you will need to sit back may be annually to an evaluation. This can be possible if you have a goal at the beginning of each year, so you can properly analyse whether you have met the goal. Also you need to decide the steps you need to take, the adjustment and new ideas as well as customers’ complaint or suggestions you would need to imbibe in order to expand your business or even just to increase effectiveness and efficiency.
Starting a textile export business is not really that complicated. You just need to understand the secrets behind been successful at it. Would you rather prefer to have someone hold your hand as you build your own textile export business? Click here to learn how to get started.